IA Financial Aid Basics

For many students, financial aid can greatly affect their decision about whether or not to attend college, or which institution they attend. Because of its importance, the decision to apply for financial aid, and which programs to accept, should be made only with a complete understanding of the process, requirements, benefits, and responsibilities.

Incoming Innovation Academy students are not degree-seeking until their first spring semester and are therefore ineligible to receive Bright Futures in the fall semester prior to their first spring. For example, an incoming 2018-19 IA student is not degree-seeking until spring 2019 and would not be eligible to receive Bright Futures in the fall 2018 semester. The first fall semester they would be eligible for Bright Futures would be fall 2019, assuming no changes in legislation.

Further IA Information

When to Apply for IA Financial Aid

Although you must be accepted for enrollment at UF before you are considered for financial aid, you should apply for aid before being admitted.Complete the 2017-18 FAFSA at https://fafsa.ed.gov/fafsa.ed.gov. You can file a 2017-18 FAFSA as early as October 1, 2016. UF’s 2017-18 “On-Time” deadline to receive the results of your FAFSA from the federal processor is December 15, 2016. Apply well before December 15 to ensure that the federal processor has time to analyze and send the results of your FAFSA to our office. Financial aid is awarded on a first come, first served basis so apply as early as possible to be considered for the most, and best aid.

For IA students, it’s critical to understand that they must meet the same financial aid deadlines as non-IA students, despite the difference in academic calendars. This means that a student hoping to join the Innovation Academy beginning in January of 2018 must meet UF’s December 15, 2016 deadline in order to receive the most, and best, aid for the 17-18 academic year. In order for us to consider you for a financial aid package, you must be an admitted student and have met the “On-Time” deadline.

*Apply several weeks earlier than the “On-Time” deadline to ensure that UF has time to process the results of your FAFSA. Financial aid award offers will be made in early spring.

State and federal student-aid programs are usually limited to two semesters in an academic year. Because the spring and summer semesters are the two primary academic terms for the IA program, financial aid funding options may be limited or unavailable in the fall semester. If you pursue fall coursework at another college or university, please be careful about accepting financial aid (i.e. Federal Pell Grant, Stafford Loans, and Florida Bright Futures Scholarship); it may reduce or remove your IA financial aid eligibility in the summer.

Who Should Apply for Aid?

All students who think they need financial assistance should apply. The only way to tell if you’re eligible to receive aid is to apply. Many factors are taken into account when awarding aid. Currently, more than seventy percent of students at UF receive some form of financial assistance.